Did Jesus or Simon of Cyrene carry the cross? | CARM Christian Apologetics & Research Ministry Did Jesus or Simon of Cyrene carry the cross? Matthew 27:31-32; Mark 15:20-21; Luke 23:26 and John 19:17 Simon of Cyrene (Matthew 27:31-32) - "And after they had mocked Him, they took His robe off and put His garments on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him. 32And as they were coming out, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon, whom they pressed into service to bear His cross." (Mark 15:20-21) - "And after they had mocked Him, they took the purple off Him, and put His garments on Him. And they *led Him out to crucify Him.

21And they pressed into service a passer-by coming from the country, Simon of Cyrene (the father of Alexander and Rufus), to bear His cross." (Luke 23:26) - "And when they led Him away, they laid hold of one Simon of Cyrene, coming in from the country, and placed on him the cross to carry behind Jesus." Jesus (John 19:17) - "They took Jesus therefore, and He went out, bearing His own cross, to the place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in Hebrew, Golgotha." Both carried the cross . John 19:17 does not say that Jesus carried the cross alone. It says he bore his own cross. He carried the cross until he couldn't carry any more than Simon assisted. A contradiction occurs when one statement makes another statement impossible but both are supposed to be true. There is no contradiction . Jesus had undergone a very physically traumatic few hours. Please consider the following verses placed in order of His ordeal and pay attention to the physical trauma he received before He ever arrived at the cross.

Sweat like blood "And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground," (Luke 22:44). He was struck "And when He had said this, one of the officers standing by gave Jesus a blow, saying, "Is that the way You answer the high priest?" 23Jesus answered him, "If I have spoken wrongly, bear witness of the wrong; but if rightly, why do you strike Me?" (John 18:22-23). He was beaten with fists "And some began to spit at Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him with their fists, and to say to Him, "Prophesy!" And the officers received Him with slaps in the face," (Mark 14:65). He was scourged "Then he released Barabbas for them; but after having Jesus scourged, he delivered Him to be crucified," (Matt. 27:26).

Crown of thorns on head and beaten "And after weaving a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they kneeled down before Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews! 30"And they spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head. 31And after they had mocked Him, they took His robe off and put His garments on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him," (Matt. 27:29-31). The accused would carry the cross beam to the place of crucifixion. Jesus started to carry it, but simply couldn't bear it very far after all the physical trauma He had just gone through. He collapsed. That is when the Romans drafted Simon of Cyrene to carry the cross the rest of the way. This article is also available in: Indonesia JESUS: Way of the Cross In his weakened state Jesus could not carry the cross. Simon of Cyrene helped him. A group of women in the crowded Jerusalem streets mourned for Jesus, the condemned man, already close to death.

Simon of Cyrene carries the cross Jesus and two other condemned men were taken by soldiers from the praetorium in Jerusalem to the place of execution. A condemned man usually carried the cross to the place of execution, but Jesus was so exhausted and weakened by the beatings that by the time they came near the city gate, a passer-by was hauled in to help carry the crossbar. This horizontal piece of the cross (not the whole cross as shown in traditional paintings or in the film still at right) was usually carried by a condemned prisoner to the place of execution. The fact that Jesus had to be helped seems to indicate that he had fallen and been unable to rise again to his feet, even at the brutal urging of the soldiers. Who was Simon of Cyrene? The man who helped him, Simon of Cyrene, came from North Africa. Cyrene had a large colony of Jews - the Jewish historian Josephus notes a Jewish community in Cyrene (Against Apion 2.44, Antiquities 16:169) and Simon must have been one of them, travelling to Jerusalem as a pilgrim to celebrate the feast of Passover. His sons are also mentioned in the gospel narrative.

This must mean that later on they became well-known members of the early Christian church. His son Rufus may even be the same Rufus who appears in Romans 16:13, where Paul writes 'Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; and greet his mother, a mother to me also.' It is tempting to think that Simon's action in helping Jesus had repercussions for the whole family, even after Simon himself died, and that his wife and sons were drawn into the greater Christian family. The women of Jerusalem mourn for Jesus The narrow streets leading to the place of execution were densely crowded. People were naturally curious to see a man passing to his execution, and in fact the sight of a tortured man on his way to a cruel death was meant to intimidate them and act as a deterrent. Among this crowd were a group of women who raised an anguished death-wail for Jesus. But Jesus responded with words that were, in effect, a death-wail for Jerusalem. He urged them not to pity him but to pity themselves, for a day was coming when they would rue having children.

His words echo the opening words of Isaiah 54: 'Sing O barren woman who never bore a child...' Barrenness and childlessness were seen as a curse among the Jews, but if this was how the Romans treated an innocent man, how much worse would be the fate of rebellious Jerusalem in the years ahead. If these women bore children they would have to contend not only with their own suffering, but with the sufferings of their children. People would long for death to free them. Were these women from Jesus' extended family, or Galilean disciples and friends? It's probable, but impossible to tell for sure. We assume they must have known him well to have felt such grief and horror. 1 Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus: Read the blue text 2 The women of Jerusalem mourn: Read the green text Matthew 27:32 As they went out, they came upon a man of Cyrene, Simon by name; they compelled this man to carry his cross. Mark 15:21 21 And they compelled a passer-by, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross.

Luke 23:26-32 26 As they led him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and they laid the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. 27 And a great number of people followed him , and among them were women who beat their breasts and wailed for him. 28 But Jesus turning to them said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.

29 For behold, the days are coming when they will say, 'Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never gave suck!' 30 Then they will begin to say to the mountains, 'Fall on us'; and to the hills, 'Cover us.' 31 For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?" Return to top Bible Study Guide: Passion and Death of Jesus Christ: Simon of Cyrene helps Jesus carry the cross; the women of Jerusalem mourn for Jesus Simon of Cyrene After Pontius Pilate had ceremoniously washed his hands and declared, "I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it," the crowd shouted back almost gleefully, "His blood be on us, and on our children." (Matthew 27:24-25). The only thing left for the mob to do then was to rejoice over the success of their freshly-washed robes of self-declared righteousness. Had the Jews put Jesus to death in their own way, He would have been stoned; but since they were doing it the legal wayï¿½the Roman wayï¿½He was crucified.

The history of death by crucifixion is an old one. Alexander the Great borrowed it from the Persians. Then it was copied by the Carthaginians. And finally it was adopted by the Romans who used it to execute slaves, thieves and prisoners of war. But the Romans considered death on a cross far too cruel for their own citizens. It was because of this that, according to rather firm tradition, Paul was beheaded by a sword instead of being crucified as was Simon Peter. As the mob faced Jesus, they faced a man who was utterly worn out. After His hours of agonized praying in Gethsemane He had gone from one weary trial to another, and He had not had a bite of food or a drop of water since the Last Supper the night before. There had been the trial before Annas, the three trials before Joseph Caiaphasï¿½the preliminary trial, the regular trial, and the repeat trialï¿½the one early in the morning to make everything legal and within the letter of the law. There had been the trial before Pilate and the trial before Herod. And there was the final trial before Pilate.

In addition to this, Jesus had gone through endless mental and physical torture. There had been the pain of three times finding Peter, James and John asleep while having Judas betray Him with a kiss. There had been the pain of seeing Peter slash off a man's ear with a sword. There had been the pain of seeing His disciples flee. There had been the pain of being bound and having His hands pulled high between His shoulders. There had been the pain of being before Caiaphas. There had been the pain of being scourged by the order of Pilate. The man delivered by the procurator to the mob was already half dead. He was a pitiful sight with the crown of thorns on His head and His raw back and swollen face. Presently an order was given, and two criminals were brought up out of their dungeon and placed with Jesus. Then each was given a cross on which he would be nailed. At a signal a platoon of legionnaires armed with spears formed a box around them so that they could not escape. Then a man appeared with a sign painted on thin pine board. The large black letters read: "THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS." The inscription was written in Latin, Hebrew and Greek.

A Roman officer on a horse led the legionnaires, and the man with the sign stood immediately in front. When everything was ready the centurion on the horse shouted, "Forward march," and the solemn procession headed for the skull-shaped hill, Calvary. The road at the beginning of the Via Dolorosa was about twelve feet wide and led up a straight incline before it sloped toward the Damascus Gate. Jesus, with the heavy cross on His shoulders, did not walk as fast now as He had the day before when He led the Twelve into the Upper Room, the eleven to the Garden of Gethsemane and the three into the edge of the Garden. The cross on His shoulders was heavy enough, but added to that weight were the past sins, the present sins, and the future sins of the entire world. No one else but the Son of God could have carried that load! As the newly formed column moved toward the grim place of execution, there were multitudes who watched from the streets and the roof tops of stores and houses. Some of the people jeered. Others were silent. Some turned their heads and dabbed at their eyes. Some of them yawned with unconcern. Others giggled and laughed.

In that crowd, however, there must have been people whom Jesus had healed of blindness. But now they were blind againï¿½blinded by their tears. One can almost hear these former beggars shouting frantically, "No! No! You can't do this to Jesus. He healed my eyes!" But these cries were ignored, and the procession plodded on! Also in that crowd there must have been some whom He had cleansed of leprosy. And I think I can see them gesturing with the new fingers Jesus had given them and shouting frantically, "No! No! You can't do this to Jesus. He healed my leprosy!" But these cries were ignored, and the procession plodded on! And I think in that crowd there must have been some whom Jesus had made to hear and to speak. And I think I can see them listening to Jesus' groans and then shouting with their new voices, "No! No! You can't do this to Jesus. He healed my ears and gave me speech!" But these cries were ignored, and the procession plodded on!

Then all at once Jesus, the Carpenter of Nazareth who had carried many a beam on His shoulders, stumbled and fell to the ground. Someone kicked Him, but He could not get up. His humanity was exhausted. The centurion was now in a dilemma. He could not ask one of his soldiers to carry the cross, nor could he ask a Jew to carry it. For if a Jew even touched it, he would be defiled and not be able to partake of the Passover. And Roman officers were definitely forbidden to interfere with the religious practices of their subjects. One wonders where Peter and James and John were at this time. They could have carried the cross. They did not need to fear not eating the Passover, for they had already eaten the Last Supper with Jesus! Peter and John had been at Caiaphas' palace a few hours before. But where were they now? Jesus had been very close to them for three years, but in this moment of trial they were not there to pick up the load for Him! And still He loved them! Oh, what a Christ! Then Simon of Cyrene, a large city in North Africa, came walking by.

Just in from the country, he was minding his own business when he saw the column on the way to Calvary. He stopped to see what it was all about. That stop changed history for him and for millions of others! The centurion noticed him immediately. He was just the man! He barked an order, and the legionnaires grabbed Simon and forced him to pick up Jesus' cross. Who was Simon of Cyrene? We do not know for certain, but we can make some pretty good guesses. Mark tells us that he was the father of Alexander and Rufus. (Mark 15:21, Acts 13:1.) And since the gospel of Mark was directed to the Romans, it is evident that the sons were well known in the church at Rome. The greatest honor ever given to a human being was when Mary conceived and gave birth to Jesus Christ. The next greatest honor given to a human being was this honorï¿½the honor of carrying Jesus' cross. But how unexpected the honor was! When Simon left home he had no idea that he was going to play such an important part in history! And perhaps as you read this the Lord will honor you and ask you to shoulder a burden.

Maybe right now He's saying, "I want you in Burma, Africa, India, Mexico. Or maybe in a voice that is soft and low He is saying, "I need you in the Sunday school. I need you to do regular church visitation. I need your money." If He is saying these things we should answer, "Yes, Lord," and feel honored in doing so! Now we often hear that a cross is something that we voluntarily pick up; but this is not always so. The text tells us that Simon was compelled to carry it. Please remember that real Christians are obedient Christians, and that if we are to obey, we must pick up the burdens Jesus hands us and be thankful to carry them! I do not know what kind of cross the Lord may present to you. But whatever it is, carry it! The cross-bearer carries something that Jesus cannot carry in order to enable Jesus to do what the cross-bearer cannot do! The task Simon was asked to complete was not a very spectacular one. His job was simply to carry a cross a few hundred feet; tradition tells us that Jesus Himself had already carried the cross most of the distance. Although the job looked insignificant at the moment, it turned out to be extremely important!

It is easy enough to get people to assume big crossesï¿½crosses with publicity attached to them, crosses that the multitude can see. But it is very difficult to get them to assume the little crosses that are unnoticed by the crowd. Yet, frequently it is the little cross that does the most good! Teaching a Sunday school class is not always an easy thing. To some teachers it is a very heavy cross. To work on a lesson for a class with its quota of rowdies is not always easy. Many a teacher goes home and weeps over the happenings of the day. And yet it so happens that here and there a screaming toddler, a paper-throwing junior hears something from or sees something in the teacher that brings about a great change. Do not despise the seemingly little things! Simon's burden was not unusually heavy. His task was not drawn out. But it was very necessary! And his name is written large in history as a result. You may be asked to assume a cross for the simple reason that no one else will carry it. Simon was not chosen because he was pious, strong or faithful. He was chosen because no one else could be had!

And when he picked up the cross, without doubt he was met with jeers and boos. One can imagine the abuse that was heaped on him as he stood to his feet with the cross over his shoulder. Then I think somebody must have gone right up to him and snarled, "Now you're defiled. You can't partake of the Passover. You are the most ignorant ignoramus I ever met!" His ears must have tingled with the abuse. But I do not think he really minded. For I think the Master must have put a wearied arm around him for support, and I think He must have whispered some wonderful words of cheer into Simon's ears! Jesus had instituted the Lord's Supper the night before. But on this gloriously terrible day He continued a custom that He has never stopped. This wonderful custom is that He always walks with the one who is carrying a cross! Are you weary of your burden? Look at Jesus by your side. He is carrying the heaviest end of the loadï¿½the end with the rough edges. And if He isn't, it is because you will not let Him! Are you weary of the scorn of the crowd?

Look at Jesus, more of the scorn is being heaped on Him than on you! Are you weary of your tired, aching, diseased, faltering body? Look at Jesus. He was so weary He fell. And His body was covered with wounds, spittle and blood! When Simon took hold of the cross, Jesus was so faint that He had fallen to the ground. But now that He had Simon to lean on, He gathered strength. In the crowd that day there was a large number of women who were weeping and lamenting over Jesus. Presently Jesus spoke to them: "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck. Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us. For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?" Luke 23:28-31. This was a very remarkable prophecy concerning what was to come.

I wonder if Jesus would have had the strength to utter these words without the help of Simon? Perhaps not! Carrying a wooden cross a short distance may have seemed insignificant to Simon, and yet it enabled Jesus Christ to preach! What you are doing for the Master may seem very trivial and insignificant, but it enables Him to carry on His work, for we are yokefellows with Him. Listen to what Jesus had to say on this matter, "And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward." Matthew 10:42. That day Simon had to give up taking the Passover because he had carried the cross and thus defiled himself. But whenever we give up something for Jesus Christ, we always receive far more in return. Remember the Master said, "And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life." Matthew 19:29.

Simon of Cyrene gave up the Passover, but in its place he received the "peace that passeth understanding." It was an excellent bargain! Mark tells us that Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus, but he does not tell us anything about Alexander and Rufus. Why? It just was not necessary! We believe these two sons were well known and loved by the readers of Mark's gospel in Rome! They were pillars in the Church! Indeed, it is thought by some that Rufus traveled with Peter and Andrew on evangelistic trips. We do know that he was well known to Paul, for at the conclusion of his Epistle to the Romans he wrote, "Salute Rufus chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine" (16:13). It seems that the whole family was saved! But now let us indulge our imaginations, move the clock ahead some thirty years from the time Simon carried the cross, and go into an obscure part of the city of Rome. Nero has been on the throne since A.D. 54. Because of him many Christians have been put to death. Peter has been crucified. Paul has been beheaded.

Others have been burned to death, some of them as flaming torches. But the Christians, the brave Christians, continued to worship. Let us slip into one of their meetings. A letter of Paul's is read, prayer is offered, communion is taken, a song is sung. Then a leader asks volunteers to rise and tell how they met Christ. Timothy gets to his feet and tells how he found the Nazarene through the preaching of Paul in Lystra in A.D. 48. Then John Mark stands up. He tells how he saw the arrest of Jesus and how he had to flee home naked. Then he tells how he found Him as his personal Savior. "But Father didn't come back for a long time, and when he did I noticed something had happened to him. There was a new light in his eyes. His worries and anxieties were gone. But I also noticed blood on his gown, and so I asked him what it was. "Then he told us the story of the cross. At first we could not believe that it was actually the Messiah. But we saw the change in Father and learned about the Resurrection, and so we knew that it was true.

"And that is how our entire family became followers of the Lord Jesus Christ!" Simon of Cyrene bore the cross patiently, and as a result his sons, Alexander and Rufus, became Christians. And perhaps even Paul heard the gospel first through their mother. Bearing one's cross pays! Simon of Cyrene After Pontius Pilate had ceremoniously washed his hands and declared, "I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it," the crowd shouted back almost gleefully, "His blood be on us, and on our children." (Matthew 27:24-25). The only thing left for the mob to do then was to rejoice over the success of their freshly-washed robes of self-declared righteousness. Had the Jews put Jesus to death in their own way, He would have been stoned; but since they were doing it the legal way...the Roman way...He was crucified. The history of death by crucifixion is an old one. Alexander the Great borrowed it from the Persians. Then it was copied by the Carthaginians. And finally it was adopted by the Romans who used it to execute slaves, thieves and prisoners of war.

But the Romans considered death on a cross far too cruel for their own citizens. It was because of this that, according to rather firm tradition, Paul was beheaded by a sword instead of being crucified as was Simon Peter. As the mob faced Jesus, they faced a man who was utterly worn out. After His hours of agonized praying in Gethsemane He had gone from one weary trial to another, and He had not had a bite of food or a drop of water since the Last Supper the night before. There had been the trial before Annas, the three trials before Joseph Caiaphas the preliminary trial, the regular trial, and the repeat trial the one early in the morning to make everything legal and within the letter of the law. There had been the trial before Pilate and the trial before Herod. And there was the final trial before Pilate. In addition to this, Jesus had gone through endless mental and physical torture. There had been the pain of three times finding Peter, James and John asleep while having Judas betray Him with a kiss. There had been the pain of seeing Peter slash off a man's ear with a sword. There had been the pain of seeing His disciples flee.

There had been the pain of being bound and having His hands pulled high between His shoulders. There had been the pain of being before Caiaphas. There had been the pain of being scourged by the order of Pilate. The man delivered by the procurator to the mob was already half dead. He was a pitiful sight with the crown of thorns on His head and His raw back and swollen face. Presently an order was given, and two criminals were brought up out of their dungeon and placed with Jesus. Then each was given a cross on which he would be nailed. At a signal a platoon of legionnaires armed with spears formed a box around them so that they could not escape. Then a man appeared with a sign painted on thin pine board. The large black letters read: "THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS." The inscription was written in Latin, Hebrew and Greek. A Roman officer on a horse led the legionnaires, and the man with the sign stood immediately in front. When everything was ready the centurion on the horse shouted, "Forward march," and the solemn procession headed for the skull-shaped hill, Calvary.

The road at the beginning of the Via Dolorosa was about twelve feet wide and led up a straight incline before it sloped toward the Damascus Gate. Jesus, with the heavy cross on His shoulders, did not walk as fast now as He had the day before when He led the Twelve into the Upper Room, the eleven to the Garden of Gethsemane and the three into the edge of the Garden. The cross on His shoulders was heavy enough, but added to that weight were the past sins, the present sins, and the future sins of the entire world. No one else but the Son of God could have carried that load! As the newly formed column moved toward the grim place of execution, there were multitudes who watched from the streets and the roof tops of stores and houses. Some of the people jeered. Others were silent. Some turned their heads and dabbed at their eyes. Some of them yawned with unconcern. Others giggled and laughed. In that crowd, however, there must have been people whom Jesus had healed of blindness. But now they were blind again blinded by their tears. One can almost hear these former beggars shouting frantically, "No! No! You can't do this to Jesus.

He healed my eyes!" But these cries were ignored, and the procession plodded on! Also in that crowd there must have been some whom He had cleansed of leprosy. I can see them gesturing with the new fingers Jesus had given them and shouting frantically, "No! No! You can't do this to Jesus. He healed my leprosy!" But these cries ignored, and the procession plodded on! And in that crowd there must have been some whom Jesus had made to hear and to speak. And I can see them listening to Jesus' groans and then shouting with their new voices, "No! No! You can't do this to Jesus. He healed my ears and gave me speech!" But these cries were ignored, and the procession plodded on! Then all at once Jesus, the Carpenter of Nazareth who had carried many a beam on His shoulders, stumbled and fell to the ground. Someone kicked Him, but He could not get up. His humanity was exhausted. The centurion was now in a dilemma. He could not ask one of his soldiers to carry the cross, nor could he ask a Jew to carry it.

For if a Jew even touched it, he would be defiled and not be able to partake of the Passover. And Roman officers were definitely forbidden to interfere with the religious practices of their subjects. One wonders where Peter and James and John were at this time. They could have carried the cross. They did not need to fear not eating the Passover, for they had already eaten the Last Supper with Jesus! Peter and John had been at Caiaphas' palace a few hours before. But where were they now? Jesus had been very close to them for three years, but in this moment of trial they were not there to pick up the load for Him! And still He loved them! Oh, what a Christ! Then Simon of Cyrene, a large city in North Africa, came walking by. Just in from the country, he was minding his own business when he saw the column on the way to Calvary. He stopped to see what it was all about. That stop changed history for him and for millions of others! The centurion noticed him immediately. He was just the man! He barked an order, and the legionnaires grabbed Simon and forced him to pick up Jesus' cross. Who was Simon of Cyrene?

We do not know for certain, but we can make some pretty good guesses. Mark tells us that he was the father of Alexander and Rufus. (Mark 15:21, Acts 13:1.) And since the gospel of Mark was directed to the Romans, it is evident that the sons were well known in the church at Rome. The greatest honor ever given to a human being was when Mary conceived and gave birth to Jesus Christ. The next greatest honor given to a human being was this honor the honor of carrying Jesus' cross. But how unexpected the honor was! When Simon left home he had no idea that he was going to play such an important part in history! And perhaps as you read this the Lord will honor you and ask you to shoulder a burden. Maybe right now He's saying, "I want you in Burma, Africa, India, Mexico. Or maybe in a voice that is soft and low He is saying, "I need you in the Sunday school. I need you to do regular church visitation. I need your money." If He is saying these things we should answer, "Yes, Lord," and feel honored in doing so!

Now we often hear that a cross is something that we voluntarily pick up; but this is not always so. The text tells us that Simon was compelled to carry it. Please remember that real Christians are obedient Christians, and that if we are to obey, we must pick up the burdens Jesus hands us and be thankful to carry them! I do not know what kind of cross the Lord may present to you. But whatever it is, carry it! The cross-bearer carries something that Jesus cannot carry in order to enable Jesus to do what the cross-bearer cannot do! The task Simon was asked to complete was not a very spectacular one. His job was simply to carry a cross a few hundred feet; tradition tells us that Jesus Himself had already carried the cross most of the distance. Although the job looked insignificant at the moment, it turned out to be extremely important! It is easy enough to get people to assume big crossesï¿½crosses with publicity attached to them, crosses that the multitude can see. But it is very difficult to get them to assume the little crosses that are unnoticed by the crowd. Yet, frequently it is the little cross that does the most good! Teaching a Sunday school class is not always an easy thing.

To some teachers it is a very heavy cross. To work on a lesson for a class with its quota of rowdies is not always easy. Many a teacher goes home and weeps over the happenings of the day. And yet it so happens that here and there a screaming toddler, a paper-throwing junior hears something from or sees something in the teacher that brings about a great change. Do not despise the seemingly little things! Simon's burden was not unusually heavy. His task was not drawn out. But it was very necessary! And his name is written large in history as a result. You may be asked to assume a cross for the simple reason that no one else will carry it. Simon was not chosen because he was pious, strong or faithful. He was chosen because no one else could be had! And when he picked up the cross, without doubt he was met with jeers and boos. One can imagine the abuse that was heaped on him as he stood to his feet with the cross over his shoulder. Then somebody must have gone right up to him and snarled, "Now you're defiled. You can't partake of the Passover.

You are the most ignorant ignoramus I ever met!" His ears must have tingled with the abuse. But he must not have minded. Perhaps the Master put a wearied arm around him for support, and whispered some wonderful words of cheer into Simon's ears! Jesus had instituted the Lord's Supper the night before. But on this gloriously terrible day He continued a custom that He has never stopped. This wonderful custom is that He always walks with the one who is carrying a cross! Are you weary of your burden? Look at Jesus by your side. He is carrying the heaviest end of the load the end with the rough edges. And if He isn't, it is because you will not let Him! Are you weary of the scorn of the crowd? Look at Jesus, more of the scorn is being heaped on Him than on you! Are you weary of your tired, aching, diseased, faltering body? Look at Jesus. He was so weary He fell. And His body was covered with wounds, spittle and blood! When Simon took hold of the cross, Jesus was so faint that He had fallen to the ground. But now that He had Simon to lean on, He gathered strength.

In the crowd that day there was a large number of women who were weeping and lamenting over Jesus. Presently Jesus spoke to them: "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck. Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us. For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?" Luke 23:28-31. This was a very remarkable prophecy concerning what was to come. I wonder if Jesus would have had the strength to utter these words without the help of Simon? Perhaps not! Carrying a wooden cross a short distance may have seemed insignificant to Simon, and yet it enabled Jesus Christ to preach! What you are doing for the Master may seem very trivial and insignificant, but it enables Him to carry on His work, for we are yokefellows with Him.

Listen to what Jesus had to say on this matter, "And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you, he shall in no wise lose his reward." Matthew 10:42. That day Simon had to give up taking the Passover because he had carried the cross and thus defiled himself. But whenever we give up something for Jesus Christ, we always receive far more in return. Remember the Master said, "And every one that hath forsaken houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life." Matthew 19:29. Simon of Cyrene gave up the Passover, but in its place he received the "peace that passeth understanding." It was an excellent bargain! Mark tells us that Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus, but he does not tell us anything about Alexander and Rufus. Why? It just was not necessary! We believe these two sons were well known and loved by the readers of Mark's gospel in Rome!

They were pillars in the Church! Indeed, it is thought by some that Rufus traveled with Peter and Andrew on evangelistic trips. We do know that he was well known to Paul, for at the conclusion of his Epistle to the Romans he wrote, "Salute Rufus chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine" (16:13). It seems that the whole family was saved! But now let us indulge our imaginations, move the clock ahead some thirty years from the time Simon carried the cross, and go into an obscure part of the city of Rome. Nero has been on the throne since A.D. 54. Because of him many Christians have been put to death. Peter has been crucified. Paul has been beheaded. Others have been burned to death, some of them as flaming torches. But the Christians, the brave Christians, continued to worship. Let us slip into one of their meetings. A letter of Paul's is read, prayer is offered, communion is taken, a song is sung. Then a leader asks volunteers to rise and tell how they met Christ. Timothy gets to his feet and tells how he found the Nazarene through the preaching of Paul in Lystra in A.D.

48. Then John Mark stands up. He tells how he saw the arrest of Jesus and how he had to flee home naked. Then he tells how he found Him as his personal Savior. AFTER John Mark sits down, Rufus takes the floor. ?I was with my other brother, Alexander, in country near Jerusalem,? he says, ?when my father went Holy City on morning Passover. All of us had planned to go into Temple and enjoy the feast.? "But Father didn't come back for a long time, and when he did I noticed something had happened to him. There was a new light in his eyes. His worries and anxieties were gone. But I also noticed blood on his gown, and so I asked him what it was. "Then he told us the story of the cross. At first we could not believe that it was actually the Messiah. But we saw the change in Father and learned about the Resurrection, and so we knew that it was true. "And that is how our entire family became followers of the Lord Jesus Christ!" Simon of Cyrene bore the cross patiently, and as a result his sons, Alexander and Rufus, became Christians. And perhaps even Paul heard the gospel first through their mother.

Bearing one's cross pays!

Question: After Jesus had fallen on his way to Calvary, who helped himcarry his cross?
Answer: SIMON OF CYRENE